An ultramarathon runner who claims to have been savagely attacked and injured in the face by a coyote on a 150-mile run in

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) tweeted the update on Wednesday, shedding light on how exactly Dean Karanzes suffered facial injuries on Saturday night in the Marin Headlands Endurance race. 

The National Park Service claims officers had spoken to the 59-year-old hours after the alleged attack and even opened an investigation into the 3 a.m. incident. 

'While we appreciate the coverage on this, we want to emphasize that the injuries shown were caused by a fall,' the GGNRA tweeted. 'The coyote did not bite the individual involved in this encounter.'

'To be clear, the fall, rather than the coyote itself, was the source of Karnazes' injuries,' National Park Service spokesperson Julian Espinoza also told the SFGATE. 'It wouldn't be accurate to refer to the encounter as an attack.'Park rangers at the Golden Gate National Recreation area said in a tweet on Wednesday that Ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes, 59, had suffered injuries to his face from a fall, shedding light on the runner's account of what exactly happened on a 150-mile race on Saturday night 

Karnazes, who also claims to have the 'endurance gene' from not producing lactic acid - an organic acid produced when muscles are making energy anaerobically, is well known in the long-distance running world and is the author of 'Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner.'

He has also completed 50 marathons in as many states and days in 2008.   

On Saturday night, Karnazes, also known as 'Ultramarathon Man,' posted a video to Instagram and discussed the attack to his over 100,000 followers with blood dripping from his upper and lower lip. 

The caption to the video reads: 'I've been attacked by a shark, and now a coyote.'

After being knocked to the ground, Karnazes believes the animal was going after the energy bar he was preparing to eat, he told NBC

'I was running and I heard some footsteps behind me,' he said. 'I thought it was a big dog on the trail and I turned to look and it was a coyote.' 

'Honestly, I think it didn't know what to do,' he added.

'He was looking at me. I was looking at him. He was going for the bar.'

After grabbing hold of the poles he brought with him for support, he was able to fend off the coyote. He then continued to run.

'Not sure what I'm going to do, but I guess I got to keep going or else it will probably come back to me,' he concluded.Dean Karnazes (left), 59, took to Instagram to document being attacked by a coyote on his 150-mile run - his second encounter with a wildlife animal after previously being attacked by a shark Karnazes attributes his ability to do ultramarathons and other 100-plus-mile runs because of his body's ability to rapidly flush lactic acid from his system. On Monday, Karnazes shared another Instagram post of a 'Do not feed the coyotes'